1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for enabling a conventional, dedicated copier to operate as an electronically driven printing apparatus, such as a laser printer or facsimile machine.
2. Description of Related Art
It is recognized that the notion of constructing dual purpose copier/printers has been contemplated by industry. Such devices generally comprise a standard copier module and a standard electronically driven printing module, combined in an appropriate fashion so that both modules reside within a single structural enclosure.
It is also recognized that liquid crystal devices have been used as optical shutters by certain manufacturers of what have commonly come to be known as "laser printers". However, such devices are still dedicated printers.
Also known to exist are copier attachments, most commonly used with color copiers, that allow 35 mm photographic slides to be projected onto a copier for reproduction. Such accessories, however, are essentially extensions of the focusing elements of the copier and do not embrace the capabilities of the present invention. Their functional objective is to permit replication of photographic representations that are graphically accurate only to transmitted (rather than reflected) light, and only after considerable magnification has been provided.
Whereas the above-described attachment is fundamentally a slide projector (from a structural perspective), it is an object of the present invention to provide an electronic image-forming apparatus that enables a standard copier to perform as a printer which is the functional equivalent of a dedicated computer printer, facsimile printer, or other type of dedicated electronically driven printer.